Deveopling child nutrition education for community center summer camps: Connecting parks and recreation with public health

Objectives: To lessen the burden of childhood overweight/obesity, children need to include more fruits and vegetables (FV) and reduce the heavily processed, nutrient-devoid food items in their diets. Recent research has identified summer camps as promising outlets for promoting healthy eating. Collaboration between a local parks and recreation department, the public health district, and two public health students led to the development of a nutrition education program for community center summer camps in Waco, Texas. 

Methods: Researchers administered a novel nutrition knowledge assessment scale based in Social Cognitive Theory (SCT) to children aged 8 to 12 years old (n=123) attending Waco Parks & Recreation summer camps in 2014. Results informed the development of a SCT-based nutrition education program called Our Children, Their Nutrition (OCTN).

Results: Researchers identified several deficiencies in nutrition knowledge including: incomplete food knowledge, lacking conceptual understanding of food as being composed of distinct nutrients, low confidence in mealtime decision making, limited FV exposure, and few FV preparation skills. OCTN consists of ten hands-on nutrition education activities (NEAs) designed to address these deficiencies and instill advanced knowledge and skills in participants. Take-home pamphlets, participant challenges, and a “Parents’ Day” activity were also designed to supplement NEAs in the home environment.

Conclusions: OCTN is an example of collaboration between public health and parks and recreation organizations to improve child nutrition. Community center summer camps can provide structure and routine for children while also being unencumbered by the educational constraints of most public school classrooms; suggesting a good partnership.